Looks like even Food Fight is out. I went to eco planet's website and it looks like all of their crackers are out of stock. In the meantime it looks like I'll be experimenting to vegan goldfish recipes. I really want a cute tiny goldfish cutter but I can't see paying $7 in shipping for a $7 cutter so it looks like i'll be making other cute shapes.

Has anyone tried making the quackers in a food processor with the dough blade? I try to cut corners on prepping time whenever possible.

And as a side note I just found out that Bradley has been cleared to start eating the school lunch! I was a very proud mama, they usually can't start eating the school lunch until they are over 1 and have a really good grasp of eating solid foods. Hooray to BLW for making my kid an expert eater.

I would, but money is tight. An adult butcher costume is $12 and I bought a toddler chicken costume for $7. I can't afford a big chicken costume. I wish I could.

Ugh, there are so many times when I want to go back to work, just to be able to buy stupid stuff, but then I'd be away from Leela. Its so hard to find anything that would let me balance enough time with her and having money, insurance etc. If I could work part time, I'd be thrilled.

_________________My oven is bigger on the inside, and it produces lots of wibbly wobbly, cake wakey... stuff. - The PoopieB.

I find it amazing how soon many people who have had kids forget that its hard to get around with a toddler. A friend of mine asked if I wanted to go hiking with her. I explained that we have limitations - Leela doesn't like car rides over an hour and she weighs nearly 25lbs and has to be carried so I can't go on hikes that have rock scramble portions because I can't really keep my balance well with her on me. No worries. I suggest a hike, she says its too easy. I suggest another that is really pushing it for me. And she says, well its really not worth driving to go somewhere so lame, and that when her daughter was the same age, she went everywhere and it wasn't a problem. I hate feeling judged - I am still recovering from having really shitty knees and my kid is huge, and I'm in my 40s - I admit, I am lame.

I need to start a toddler hiking group.

_________________My oven is bigger on the inside, and it produces lots of wibbly wobbly, cake wakey... stuff. - The PoopieB.

Seriously nneJ, what the fizzle? Is it people who are miffed because she doesn't go to people she doesn't know well?

Whatever it is, they suck. And I'll totally spit in their eyes for you.

You know, I am reminded of how limited our generation's parents were sometimes, because there were so much fewer resources, and mostly you were just doing what your parents and the people around you did. A friend of mine was telling me about how her mother advised her to pinch her baby when she is still little because "that way she will grow up fearing you, but not know why, and she'll do what you say."

_________________My oven is bigger on the inside, and it produces lots of wibbly wobbly, cake wakey... stuff. - The PoopieB.

Complete shift to another topic but I am shocked at how much baby clothes cost! Even though I'm really specific on the kind of clothes guineapiglet wears (minimal pink, no bows, lace, sparkles, twinkles, nothing that says "I'm a DIVA", etc.) people still were fantastic about buying her clothes that we all loved and we had a steady stream of hand me downs that had some gems in them. And when they weren't fantastic about it we just donated the clothes to the women's shelter or salvation army. But now that she's older the clothes stream has dried up and for the first time I'm buying a complete season of clothes for her by myself and geesh! I spent a small fortune and that's with buying everything on sale, with coupons on top of coupons. True, this time I had to buy winter coats, and shoes for the first time so that added a lot of it right there but gosh. All those little $5 and $10 items add up quick.

If you have a consignment store near you, they are definitely worth checking out. There are a few here, but my favorite sells stuff for, like, $1.75 for shirts, $3 for trousers. Even the more expensive stuff is cheap - we paid $10 for a coat for Peter that would normally retail for over $50. It's not like picking through thrift store stuff, either - most of it is name brand (which I care nothing about), and it is all in excellent condition, no stains, no missing buttons etc. We don't buy any of Peter's clothes new, except shoes.

I've heard of some great consignment stores around town. Unfortunately, my time is very very limited right now. I usually do all my shopping except grocery shopping online because I rarely have time to even get out and run the simplest of errands. In January when I finally get to find out what it's like to be a mommy without going to school for 2 degrees, writing, working, and interning I'll have more time and look forward to getting around to these great consignment stores.

Complete shift to another topic but I am shocked at how much baby clothes cost! Even though I'm really specific on the kind of clothes guineapiglet wears (minimal pink, no bows, lace, sparkles, twinkles, nothing that says "I'm a DIVA", etc.) people still were fantastic about buying her clothes that we all loved and we had a steady stream of hand me downs that had some gems in them. And when they weren't fantastic about it we just donated the clothes to the women's shelter or salvation army. But now that she's older the clothes stream has dried up and for the first time I'm buying a complete season of clothes for her by myself and geesh! I spent a small fortune and that's with buying everything on sale, with coupons on top of coupons. True, this time I had to buy winter coats, and shoes for the first time so that added a lot of it right there but gosh. All those little $5 and $10 items add up quick.

Yeah, it's crazy. Malka wears whatever hand-me-downs we get (nothing really crazy like "DIVA" stuff and nothing that is too complicated to put on, we also rejected the leather shoes), and then we choose the rest - half from the girls' section, half from the boys', and buy whatever is cheapest and gets the job done and is simple and basic. It adds up. We've found The Children's Place to be really great for cheap sales. Old Navy isn't bad, either. Also, we attempt to keep her wardrobe really minimal (although it's hard when you rarely do laundry like we do). If I were doing loads a couple times a week I'd pare her wardrobe down to half a dozen onesies and pants, half a dozen pairs of socks, and a couple sweatshirts.

ETA: Sales require really showing up at the store. We got a winter jacket with a fleece liner (equivalent to my husband's winter jacket which was like $200) for $9 at The Children's Place on sale. Some of these sales are just insane. I have not much time and extremely little patience for thrifting, especially if I had a baby in tow (I keep promising I'm going to go to a consignment event, though, I kind of doubt it will ever happen). Shopping is just not very fun for me and it's much worse if I have to do serious searching. Even going to a place as minimally chaotic as Marshall's makes me feel like I'm going to have a claustrophobia attack.

Last edited by Ariann on Sat Oct 13, 2012 9:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I hear you on the time issue. Once things ease up, see if any of your local parent/moms groups have recycling dates! Our playgroup does one and I got supercute stuff for L (18m to 2T) and I just heard that a local school does one that is really great, so I'm going to be checking that out next month. We have 4 good consignment shops near us, plus 3 consignment "events" that happen 2x a year.

_________________My oven is bigger on the inside, and it produces lots of wibbly wobbly, cake wakey... stuff. - The PoopieB.

Also, toddler hiking group sounds fun. Right after I master the back carry.

What carrier do you have? The Babywearers group is so great for help in back carries. Also, I LOVE my Kinderpack :)

What you've seen - Mei Tai. Also have a Moby and a Bjorn, but those are no good for back carry. Might need to buy a new carrier. I wish the babywearers met at better times for me. 11am on a Thursday is just not going to happen.

The things I have planned for my life post-craziness are endless! I can't wait! I have to admit I'm stretched pretty thin. People ask me all the time "how do you do everything?!" and my reply is always "the only thing that I give 100% of my energy to is being a mom which means everything else gets done pretty shitty but it gets done!" Looking forward to the day when I don't have to choose between taking a long walk with gpiglet and editing my thesis (the walk always wins).